Dade To Leave City Status Up To Miamians

County Won't Vote On Dissolution

MIAMI - — A proposal to give Dade County voters a say in whether the city of Miami should be abolished was abandoned on Friday.

After listening to four fellow Metro-Dade commissioners savage his plan, Pedro Reboredo agreed to withdraw the proposal and let Miami voters alone decide the issue.

Reboredo and the other four commissioners, who all want to help preserve Miami, agreed they should focus their "informational campaign" on city residents rather than working countywide.

"It makes sense that we should concentrate our efforts," said Reboredo, chairman of the committee in charge of preparing the county in the event that Miami is dissolved and must be absorbed by Metro-Dade.

Other commissioners, as well as Miami Commissioner Tomas Regalado, also argued that the voters of the city should have the sole right to determine their future form of government.

A group of Miami property owners seeking lower taxes has petitioned for a referendum on dissolving city government. A vote is expected to be scheduled for late summer.

Because dissolving Miami government could strain services and increase taxes in the unincorporated county, Reboredo had proposed amending the Metro-Dade charter to require approval of voters countywide.

Those who favor dissolution sharply criticized that proposal. And although Reboredo's plan would have made it more difficult to dissolve the city, some of those who want to preserve the city joined in the criticism on Friday.

"It would not be fair to let a majority of people in the county decide what the people of the city should do," said Regalado, an ardent opponent of dissolution.

Members of Reboredo's committee have vowed to help save the city through an informational campaign. That campaign is expected to show tax savings for the average resident would be slight and municipal services likely would be reduced.

Committee members balked at the estimated $700,000 it would cost the county for the special election and said they do not yet have strong evidence that Miami's dissolution would cause a major hardship for the county.

Although Reboredo agreed to withdraw his proposal, he still wondered whether county voters shouldn't have a say.

"Maybe someday in the not too distant future, we can proceed with a straw-ballot issue," he said.